Into the mountain forests we go, from Alleghany and Ashe to Haywood and Henderson counties, on the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Many have taken this journey to reach North Carolina’s nearly 1,300 Fraser fir growers, whose farms cover about 40,000 acres. Our Christmas tree industry is now the second largest in the nation, meaning that the Fraser fir is much more than the keeper of our heirloom ornaments — it’s a major part of western North Carolina’s economy.
After World War II, the value of common mountain crops like beans and cabbage, which had once sustained many Appalachian growers, dropped to virtually nothing. Many moved away to grow crops elsewhere, but a few farmers remained and turned their attention to the area’s prolific Fraser firs for commercial harvesting. In the late 1950s, Foscoe Christmas tree grower Denver Taylor spent hours trekking up Grandfather Mountain, where he would cut and tie up four or five firs — all he could carry — and bring them back down to sell for a dollar each along local roadsides. According to the Avery Journal, Taylor’s $5 could cover a large chunk of his weekly groceries.
Fraser firs grow across our mountains at Christmas tree farms like 100-year-old Boyd Mountain in Waynesville. photograph by Robert Stephens
The first official commercial cutting of Fraser firs for Christmas trees was carried out on Roan Mountain by the U.S. Forest Service, which sold 1,000 trees in 1950. Just five years later, the agency sold 22,000.
North Carolina Fraser firs got their first big break in 1971, when a 21-foot fir was selected as the official White House Christmas tree and decorated with gold foil angels and handmade dogwood ornaments. This was the first of 15 presidential Fraser firs selected from our state — more trees than any other state since the start of the 57-year-old contest sponsored by the National Christmas Tree Association.
The First Families — as well as families across the country — prefer our Fraser firs for their strong branches, needle retention, and evergreen scent that instantly conjures memories of Christmas mornings spent with loved ones. From January to November, North Carolina is the land of the longleaf pine, but come Christmastime, we’re the home of the finest firs.
Firs growing at the Upper Mountain Research Station in Ashe County should reach maturity by 2030. photograph by TRACY TAYLOR/UPPER MOUNTAIN RESEARCH STATION
On a sloped patch of land in Laurel Springs, perfect Fraser firs stretch out in rows, their pointed tops just a few feet above the ground. Well, not perfect, but “elite” trees, according to the North Carolina State Extension researchers who’ve been cultivating this particular crop for 27 years. John Frampton, an agriculture researcher and the founder of the Christmas Tree Genetics Program, traveled across western North Carolina to evaluate the genetic characteristics of some 30,000 Fraser firs. From those, he took a superior group of 25 back to the Upper Mountain Research Station in Ashe County, where he created the Fraser Fir Seed Orchard. Just last year, those trees began to produce cones, each of which can contain up to 100 seeds. The program expects to share viable seeds with North Carolina growers in the next few years, making North Carolina Christmas trees somehow even better.
Of the nearly 70 decorated trees inside the Biltmore House each year, the Banquet Hall Fraser fir is the most spectacular, with 500 ornaments and 500 electric lights covering the massive tree. photograph by The Biltmore Company
Finally settling into his new mountain castle in Asheville, George Vanderbilt readied the Biltmore Estate for its first Christmas in 1895. When his family arrived for the holiday dinner, they were greeted by an enormous Fraser fir at the end of the dining table, where they exchanged gilded cards and shared plum pudding and mince pies. From that Christmas on, the Banquet Hall has held one of the most impressive Fraser firs in all of North Carolina.
Today, a 35-foot tree is scouted and selected before it’s cut and hauled to the Biltmore Estate from Andrews Nursery in Avery County. Fifty people are required to hoist and secure the Fraser fir into place in the Banquet Hall, where it’s decorated with hundreds of ornaments and lights, just as it was more than a century ago for the mansion’s original occupants.
Biltmore Estate
1 Lodge Street
Asheville, NC 28803
(800) 411-3812
biltmore.com
When it comes to matches made in the kitchen, North Carolinians believe in soulmates. From breakfast to dessert, dig into a few of our favorite pairings.
An immigrant from Lebanon forged a fashion dynasty and a cozy home in Wake County for lovers of fine clothing.
In Edgecombe County, the country’s second-oldest remaining town common is the gateway to its sprawling historic district. Travel these acres and blocks on a reflective trip through time.
A story of survival unfolds on the Albemarle Peninsula.
